Samuel Johnson

He that outlives a wife whom he has long loved, sees himself disjoined from the only mind that has the same hopes, and fears, and interest; from the only companion with whom he has shared much good and evil; and with whom he could set his mind at liberty, to retrace the past or anticipate the future. The continuity of being is lacerated; the settled course of sentiment and action is stopped; and life stands suspended and motionless.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.

Wine makes a man better pleased with himself. I do not say that it makes him more pleasing to others… This is one of the disadvantages of wine, it makes a man mistake words for thoughts.

All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.

There are few ways in which a man can be more innocently employed than in getting money.

The blaze of reputation cannot be blown out, but it often dies in the socket; a very few names may be considered as perpetual lamps that shine unconsumed.

All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong.

Gratitude is a debt which usually goes on accumulating like blackmail; the more you pay, the more is exacted. In time, you are made to realize that the kindness done you is become a curse and you wish it had not happened.

No one ever became great by imitation.

If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life.

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.

Children sweeten labours, but they make misfortunes more bitter.

When the eyes say one thing, and the tongue another, a practiced man relies on the language of the first.

There is no one who does not exaggerate!

How does it happen, Maecenas, that no one is content with that lot of which he has chosen or which chance has thrown his way, but praises those who follow a different course?

The good lawyer is not the man who has an eye to every side and angle of contingency, and qualifies all his qualifications, but who throws himself on your part so heartily, that he can get you out of a scrape.

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.

By all means let’s be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.

Therefore if a man look sharply and attentively, he shall see Fortune; for though she be blind, yet she is not invisible.

We have more than we use.

Your path will unfold as you walk it, step by step, each one a choice. Be mindful of where you put your feet; sometimes you will step on something sharp. This is a lesson; pay attention. Sometimes you will walk on soft green grass and you will stop and stay awhile. Enjoy those moments. Keep your eyes and heart on your destination and discover your way, one step at a time.